That draft has always made me think of what I'd do. There arent many guys like Oden that come around like that. 7 footers with those type of skills dont grow on trees so I mean...but god damn Durant was good in college too. They were just looking for a big man to pair with Roy at the time, and Oden was a pretty good option.

I seem to remember reading a Bill Simmons article around draft time that mentioned how Oden ran like he was old, even before his knees blew up. He just didn't move well even as he was coming out of college. That should tell you something right there. I certainly preferred Durant to Oden for that reason.

The only injury Oden had prior to getting to Portland was his wrist, and he played through it. There wasn't anything to suggest he'd not be able to walk ever again. Really sad story with him, I was a huge fan.

With Durant, tbh I thought he was gonna be nothing special, a borderline all-star for most of his career. I know that's better than "nothing special," but you know the type, those scoring wings on middling efficiency that can get up to the low-mid 20s in ppg on 45% shooting in their prime. Nothing to scoff at, certainly, but I didn't think he'd be a piece you can say, "Okay, this is our guy who is gonna be the centrepiece of our championship team." Almost like a Chris Bosh, but at SF. Obviously I was very wrong and he reached that point, and even surpassed it a little bit by year 2. What I thought Durant was limited to wasn't enough to justify passing on what I, and many other people thought Oden was going to be. Oden was the right choice at the time, and most out there agreed with it.

Yep, but it's still impressive how he's in constant foul trouble yet still racks up double-doubles. Had 10/11 tonight on 24 minutes of play.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nobodyinparticular

I seem to remember reading a Bill Simmons article around draft time that mentioned how Oden ran like he was old, even before his knees blew up. He just didn't move well even as he was coming out of college. That should tell you something right there. I certainly preferred Durant to Oden for that reason.

It just was never meant to be for Oden.

I didn't start reading Bill Simmons' stuff until he made his move to Grantland, but this was something that was well-documented beforehand. He ran like he was old, he walked around like he was old, his back hunched and his head hanging low constantly. He was the classic guy that plays because he's been told his whole life he's a basketball player, and KD was the complete opposite. Next to Kobe, i don't think anyone in the NBA loves basketball more than that guy.

The only injury Oden had prior to getting to Portland was his wrist, and he played through it. There wasn't anything to suggest he'd not be able to walk ever again. Really sad story with him, I was a huge fan.

With Durant, tbh I thought he was gonna be nothing special, a borderline all-star for most of his career. I know that's better than "nothing special," but you know the type, those scoring wings on middling efficiency that can get up to the low-mid 20s in ppg on 45% shooting in their prime. Nothing to scoff at, certainly, but I didn't think he'd be a piece you can say, "Okay, this is our guy who is gonna be the centrepiece of our championship team." Almost like a Chris Bosh, but at SF. Obviously I was very wrong and he reached that point, and even surpassed it a little bit by year 2. What I thought Durant was limited to wasn't enough to justify passing on what I, and many other people thought Oden was going to be. Oden was the right choice at the time, and most out there agreed with it.

The thing is, though, that everyone maxed out Oden's potential as a 15ppg game with great defense. He didn't have overpowering athleticism like Dwight Howard did/does, or the skill that less athletic guys have (Cousins). He was caught somewhere in the middle, getting by on being a better athlete in college, and not necessarily having the drive to make himself a good offensive player. He was primarily gonna be a defensive center for most of his career.

Durant was always regarded as an offensive wizard, and most people had that impression of him before the draft. I remember on PTI before the draft, they had the O/U for scoring titles won by KD at 3.5 and Wilbon picked the over. Plenty of people preferred Durant over Oden, but conventional wisdom said 'take the big man'.

Nobody maxed Oden's potential out as a 15 PPG defensive guy. Dozens upon dozens of scouts thought he was the next David Robinson, and that he was going to be a 20/10 guy for a long time to come. Don't be so quick with the revisionist history for Oden, he was the right pick at the time to complement the Roy/Aldridge team they were building around. Even still, Aldridge has turned into the best PF in the game regardless.

I personally thought Durant was the right choice, but that's just because I had the world's biggest man crush on Durant. I thought Oden would be a 20/10 guy too. Thought Durant would have been a better pick but I couldn't really fault the Oden pick.

Nobody maxed Oden's potential out as a 15 PPG defensive guy. Dozens upon dozens of scouts thought he was the next David Robinson, and that he was going to be a 20/10 guy for a long time to come. Don't be so quick with the revisionist history for Oden, he was the right pick at the time to complement the Roy/Aldridge team they were building around. Even still, Aldridge has turned into the best PF in the game regardless.

I think LA is the 6th best player in the NBA
I'd go:
James
Durant
Howard
Paul
Wade
Aldridge
He's an offensive dynamo who plays good defense. If one of Oden or Roy reached their potential, we'd be one of the top 3 teams in the West year in and year out. Oh what could have been :(

I think LA is the 6th best player in the NBA
I'd go:
James
Durant
Howard
Paul
Wade
Aldridge

The ****???

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Quote:

Originally Posted by 49erNation85

I wouldn't be sir prized if he passed McCoy on the depth chart. I think he might have a better arm and accurate arm then him from the highlights I thought. He also got some wheels too help us prepare for QB's as Wilson , RG3 and other runners etc.

I wouldn't be sir prized if he passed McCoy on the depth chart. I think he might have a better arm and accurate arm then him from the highlights I thought. He also got some wheels too help us prepare for QB's as Wilson , RG3 and other runners etc.

Oden wasn't a bad pick at all. Portland saw him as a compliment to LA and let's keep in mind that Roy was still in his pre-injury prime form as well. I think the Blazers saw that trio as a Kobe/Pau/Bynum model.

At worst Oden was going to be a beastly defensive/rebounding center, but that's all they needed him to be because of LA's offensive growth.

Durant obviously turned out to be the better player and in hindsight he would've been the better pick with Roy's injuries and his retirement. Tthe Blazers though didn't have the luxury of hindsight at the time and made the pick they saw that best fit their team.

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Another sig courtesy of BoneKrusher

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBCX

Despite looking better against an underachieving Eagles team, I still think the Bears are one of the worst teams in the NFL. I smell a blowout victory by the Lions this week and a division sweep.

The only injury Oden had prior to getting to Portland was his wrist, and he played through it. There wasn't anything to suggest he'd not be able to walk ever again. Really sad story with him, I was a huge fan.

With Durant, tbh I thought he was gonna be nothing special, a borderline all-star for most of his career. I know that's better than "nothing special," but you know the type, those scoring wings on middling efficiency that can get up to the low-mid 20s in ppg on 45% shooting in their prime. Nothing to scoff at, certainly, but I didn't think he'd be a piece you can say, "Okay, this is our guy who is gonna be the centrepiece of our championship team." Almost like a Chris Bosh, but at SF. Obviously I was very wrong and he reached that point, and even surpassed it a little bit by year 2. What I thought Durant was limited to wasn't enough to justify passing on what I, and many other people thought Oden was going to be. Oden was the right choice at the time, and most out there agreed with it.

Everything up here in the Northwest was Oden vs Durant and it was probably 10-1 Oden by anyone's standards. I personally saw some Bill Rusell in Oden and like you wasnt sure that Durant was capable of being much more than a scorer. Bad luck with Oden and Roy and i guess to some extent Bill Walton ,you have to wonder what's in the water up there in the Rose City.

On a differant note someone explain what the Celtics are doing with the Rajon Rondo situation. Are they trying to rebuild and if so do you do it with a 31 year old guy who is very good but has some serious miles on the tires.

I'd personally put Manu over him as well but he hasn't played so that's that

Aldridge is better than Love. Love scores more and rebounds more but Aldridge makes up for it by being more efficient and better defense (although Love has gotten noticeably better in that area this year.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Babylon

On a differant note someone explain what the Celtics are doing with the Rajon Rondo situation. Are they trying to rebuild and if so do you do it with a 31 year old guy who is very good but has some serious miles on the tires.

Rondo is only 25, you really freaked me out for a bit there though. And they definitely should have tried to build around him, but at this point you're not going to get much of anything for the other 3 on that team so now trading him might not be the worst thing if you can get a couple good young pieces.